The present invention relates to a mechanism for handling money.
Coin or bill handling mechanisms are typically sold to manufacturers of complete machines, such as vending machines, as a unit with a port connectable to a controller within the machine. For example, a coin changer validates coins and outputs a signal on the port indicating the value of acceptable coins received. The machine controller receives signals from a user interface indicating the goods selected, determines the price of the goods, compares the price with the value of coins received, and determines whether there has been an overpayment. If so, the machine controller sends a signal to the changer port indicating the value of change to be given. The changer or the machine controller determine what combination of coins is to be dispensed to make up this value, and the changer dispenses that combination of coins.
Certain standards have been agreed for the physical and electrical connection of peripheral devices to machine controllers. One such standard is the xe2x80x98International Multi-drop Bus Interface Standardxe2x80x99(the MDB standard). According to this standard, the vending machine controller and peripheral devices are each connected to a common bus. Signals exchanged on the bus comply with a protocol defined by the standard and allow commands to be issued to the peripherals by the vending machine controller and status reports to be sent back by the peripherals to the controller.
However, there are many vending machines already in use in which the input/output port of the vending machine controller complies with an obsolete standard or does not support multiple peripherals, so that the machine cannot be upgraded by adding peripherals.
With the introduction of the Euro, there will be a need to add peripherals for validating Euro banknotes to machines which currently can accept only coins. There will also be a greatly increased need for machines to accept payment in more than one currency. Moreover. as the use of pre-paid or debit cards becomes more widespread, but cash continues to be used, there will be a need to add card readers to machines which currently accept only cash.
According to the present invention, there is provided a first money handling unit which has a first port for connection to a machine controller and a second port for connection to a second money handling unit. In this way, at least one further unit may be added to a machine without the need to alter the interface between the machine controller and the first unit.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the second port is connectable to any one of a number of different money handling units, and may implement a single standard interface for such a connection. An advantage of this arrangement is that, where the machine controller is not able to communicate directly with multiple different types of money handling unit, the first money handling unit according to this aspect of the invention provides the required connectivity instead.
In embodiments of the invention, the first money handling unit is a changer which validates and dispenses coins or tokens, while the second money handling unit may be a banknote validator, a card reader or a further changer, for example.
The interface across the second port may implement a different protocol from that implemented across the first port, and the first unit then converts signals between the two protocols. In this way the second unit, although incompatible with the controller, may be used in the same system as the controller.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the interfaces across the first and second port may implement the same protocol and the second unit may be physically connectable either to the second port or directly to the controller, for example via a bus connection. When the second unit is connected to the second port, the first unit copies all signals from the second port to the first port and copies at least those signals addressed to the second unit, and preferably all signals, from the first port to the second port, while responding to signals addressed to the first unit on the first port. This allows the second unit to function correctly when it is physically connected to the second port.
According to a third aspect of the invention, the second unit is a device of a first type, and the first unit converts between communications on the second port with the second unit and communications on the first port representative of a unit of a second type different from the first type. This allows units of the first type to be used where the machine controller does not recognise units of the first type but does recognise units of the second type.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the first unit communicates with the controller by representing values in a first denomination and the first unit communicates with the second unit by representing values in a second denomination, and the first unit converts between the first and second denominations.